2000
#6,167
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.90
Rare Last name
Capone
Derived from the Italian word "capone," meaning "big head," likely referring to an ancestor with a large head.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,327 Americans carry the last name Capone. That puts it at #6,970 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 64,343 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Capone surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Capone with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.3K
1 in 64,343
Census rank
#6,970
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,645 bearers of the surname Capone in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6970th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Capone, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Capone
The surname Capone has its origins in Italy, specifically in the central and southern regions. It is believed to have derived from the Italian word "capo," meaning "head" or "leader," suggesting that the name may have been originally used to refer to a person who held a position of authority or leadership within a community.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Capone date back to the 12th century in various Italian documents and records. Some of the earliest known bearers of this surname include Giovanni Capone, a merchant from Naples born around 1180, and Matteo Capone, a landowner from Abruzzo who lived in the late 13th century.
In the 14th century, the name Capone appeared in several historical records, including the Florentine Codice Diplomatico, which mentions a Bartolomeo Capone in 1327. Another notable figure from this era was Niccolò Capone, a lawyer and judge from Siena who served in the city's government in the late 1300s.
Throughout the centuries, the Capone surname has been associated with various notable individuals, including:
1. Vincenzo Capone (1842-1924), an Italian politician and lawyer who served as a deputy in the Italian Parliament.
2. Antonio Capone (1870-1935), an Italian-American mobster and patriarch of the Capone crime family in New York.
3. Al Capone (1899-1947), the infamous American gangster and crime boss who dominated organized crime in Chicago during the Prohibition era.
4. Benedetto Capone (1906-1983), an Italian painter and sculptor known for his abstract and surrealist works.
5. Gennaro Capone (1914-1990), an Italian-American actor and singer who appeared in several Hollywood films and television shows.
While the surname Capone has been associated with different regions and variations in spelling over time, such as Caponi, Capona, and Capuana, its roots can be traced back to the Italian peninsula, where it has a long and storied history dating back to the Middle Ages.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Capone
Among Census respondents with the surname Capone, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Capone bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Capone surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 4,282
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 178
- Two or more races1.8% · 83
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 50
- Black or African American0.7% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Capone
Capone appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,595
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,135
+21 bearers (+0.4%)
Per 100,000 1.74
Rank movement Down 428 places
2020
#6,970
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,645
-490 bearers (-9.5%)
Per 100,000 1.55
Rank movement Down 375 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,167 | 5,114 | 1.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,595 | 5,135 | 1.74 | +21 bearers (+0.4%) | Down 428 places |
| 2020 | #6,970 | 4,645 | 1.55 | -490 bearers (-9.5%) | Down 375 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Capone surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,595 | #6,970 | -5.7% |
| Count | 5,135 | 4,645 | -9.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.74 | 1.55 | -10.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Capone bearers went from 5,135 to 4,645 (-9.5% change). The surname moved down 375 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,595 to #6,970.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Capone
FAQ
Capone surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Capone?
Name Census estimates that about 5,327 living Americans carry the surname Capone. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 64,343 residents.
How common is Capone?
Capone ranks #6,970 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.55 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,645 people with the surname Capone. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,327), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.55 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Capone.
Has Capone become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Capone went from 5,135 recorded bearers to 4,645. That is a decrease of 490 (-9.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,595 to #6,970.
What does the Census say about the background of Capone?
Among Census respondents with the surname Capone, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Capone in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (4,282 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Capone appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (1.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Capone (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Capone mean?
Derived from the Italian word "capone," meaning "big head," likely referring to an ancestor with a large head. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Capone (1.55 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Capone?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.